Objective This study attempted to establish whether psychosocial factors at work are predictors of depressive symptoms in a prospective cohort of men and women employed in a wide variety of occupations by the French national company Electricité De France-Gaz De France (EDF-GDF).

Methods This prospective cohort study followed the Gazel cohort by means of annual self-administered questionnaires and independent data obtained from the medical and personnel departments of the company.

The self-administered questionnaire, in 1995, provided information about the psychosocial work environment characteristics, psychological job demands, decision latitude, and social support at work.

Depressive symptoms were assessed by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) Scale in the 1996 questionnaire.

Potential confounding variables were age, marital status, and number of children, assessed in the 1995 questionnaire, stressful personal and occupational events during the previous 12 months, assessed in the 1996 questionnaire, and educational level, occupation and previous absenteeism for mental disorders, assessed from the independent data provided by EDF-GDF.

The subjects were 1 1 552 workers (8422 men aged 46-56 years in 1995 and 3130 women aged 41-56 years) who answered the 1995 and 1996 questionnaires and were working during this period. (...)